Moving an electricity meter - cost / general

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I am puzzled by the cost and logistics of moving my electricity meter from inside my kitchen to an outside wall.

I have enquired about moving both my gas and electricity meters outside. Having the gas meter moved seems like it will be done without too much difficulty, from disconnection to reconnection, all by Northern Gas Networks.

However, to move the electric meter apparently I need:

1. Northern Powergrid to move my supply for £972.45 plus VAT. Apparently this will “more than likely” involve digging as they will only work outside the house. It would be £646.50 plus VAT if I did my own digging.
2. My electricity supplier to move the meter. Cost as yet unknown.
3. Someone to install an outside meter cabinet. Cost as yet unknown.
4. A third party electrician on site to connect the meter to the fuse box. Cost as yet unknown.

This information has been provided over the telephone. As yet nobody has looked at the position of anything.

It’s point 1 that I’m having most difficulty with – moving the supply, digging and the cost.

Thanks for any thoughts anyone.
 
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that sounds fairly reasonable to me

how much digging is involved?

if you fit a surface mounted meter cab rather than a flush one the costs to fit this will be minimal, it will just sick out a lot
 
Thanks for the reply. I have no idea how much digging is involved, or even IF it is involved.

Partly I don't understand why to get my gas meter moved one company will do the lot for a few hundred pounds but to get my electricity meter moved I have to involve three or four parties and it will cost well over a thousand just for the first company's involvement. What the total cost will be I have no idea at this stage.
 
the DNO cannot simply move your old cable, they will have to disconnect your old one and lay a new one.

this is why it will cost so much, and I imagine the trench will need to be from the border of your property (by the road) to the new cutout location

im not an expert on either (their are some DNO operators on here that will give you a much clearer answer) but I imagine with a gas meter move, they can just turn off your gas, move the pipes and turn you back on again.

The DNO can't do this with your supply, they would need to turn off the whole street (or more) and clearly they cant do this

The supply company shouldn't charge you much, if at all to move your meter

And neither the MOP nor the DNO are allowed to touch your installation, which is why you will need a spark to install the tails to your CU

Depending on the distance from your cutout to consumer unit you may need the spark to install a switch fuse as well
 
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The gas move is easy as the suoply pipe can be safely squeezed shut while the meter is moved. Cannot do that for the live electrical supply cable. Bending a live supply cable is not a good idea and unless you have an overhead supply it is not possible to disconnect the cable to make it safe to move around.

You should make the point that your move of the meter will take the meter outside the property so meter readers will not require access to the property to read the meter or carry out other meter related activity.

When you make the application you will be given an estimated cost based on diagrams of the network cable locations and work involved. You pay this up front and then the surveyor will visit the site to confirm the details. At this point you and the surveyor can make changes to the plans which might reduce the cost. In my case of a new supply a change in the location for the end of the trench I dug to the highway reduced the cost by £ 2000 down to £ 900.
 
Hi,
I had this exact same job done a few years ago by NEDL (Now Northern Power Grid. I think it was only £575, but that was a few year ago. It’s a fixed price to move up to 6 meters in length. Assuming it’s all on your own land (no additional permission required) it’s simple.

You need to fit a meter box (surface mount is easier) then a ‘hockey stick’ duct and underground duct to the location of the old cable and leave a draw string in the duct. All relevant parts easily available at builders’ merchants.

You need to carefully dig to expose the old supply cable and clearance round it. They came out with a scanner to find it for me.

Your electrician will need to route meter tails to the new meter box or at least a temporary supply until work is finished.

Northern power grid will arrange a time with you to come out pull a new cable to the new box. They will fit a new cut-out and earth block, move your existing meter, fit an isolator and reseal all the equipment. They will then do a live joint from the old to new cable, do a polarity and loop test. Job done.

Simples!
 
Thanks Graham3232.

The price from their website is from £647+VAT if doing own digging.

Their leaflet on service operations clearly states that I'd need to arrange for my electricity supplier to move the meter itself.
 
With new supplies, say a new building you would have to choose an energy supplier and they would fit the meter once the supply in installed

As you already have the supply and metering in use, Northern Power Grid should move the meter over to the new supply otherwise they are leaving you with no electric. They are obliged to reinstate your energy supply after the work.

At least that is how it has always been with me and I have had several new supplies and alterations over time on various properties.

Let me know how it goes!
 
The last supply I had moved by northern power grid, they installed the new supply into the meter cabinet installed by the builder, and chopped off the old supply. They did not move the meter, which was done by a seperate contractor from meter plus. We then transferred the consumer unit over to the new supply.
 

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